Oscar w



0. W. CARLSON.

HAME FASTENER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. l. |918.

1,8 l0, 1 '74. Patented July 15, i919.

' OSCAR w. CARLSON, or LITCHFIELD, MINNESOTA.

HAME-FASTENER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

' Application filed August 1, 1918. Serial No. 247,791. v

` To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, OscAR W. ARLsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Litchfield, in the county of Meeker and State of Minnesota, have invented certain` new and useful` Improvements 1n Hame- Fasteners; and I ldohereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same.

My invention relates to adjustable metal-` lic hame fasteners, and has for its object to provide such a hame strap that may be stamped or pressed from sheet metal, and hence, cheaply made, but at the same time, very strong and durable.

Generally stated, the inventionconsists of the novel devices and combination of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims. r

The preferred form ofthe invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring tothe drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view ofthe improved hame fastener; p

"Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section `taken on the line 3-3 ofFig. 2; l

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the hame fastener; and

Fig.`5 is a fragmentary `view in bottom plan view, showing certain parts uof the hame fastener, certain other parts being removed and some parts being broken away.

The hame fastener comprises two main strap members 6 and 7, both of ywhichmembers are stamped or pressed from heavy sheet metal or from a thin flat bar of metal. The strap member 6, at one end, is formed with lateral extensions 8 that are bent first upward and then inward, so that they afford a keeper or guide through which the strap member 7 is arranged to slide. The strap member 7 is formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced rectangular perforations 9 formed by punching. In the natural process of punching, the punched holes are given a slight taper, and in this preferred arrangement, they are s0 punched that the right hand sides of the said perforations will be perpendicular to the planes of the faces of the straps 7, while the left hand sides of said perforation will be slightly oblique for a purpose which will presently appear.

Near `its end and underlying its keeper flanges 8, the strap 6 `is provided with a large 'perforation 10 through which works the dog-acting end 11 of a latch plate 12. This latch plate 12 is an independently stamped element formed from a flat piece of sheet metal. The widest intermediate portion `of this latch plate 12 is preferably a little wider than the straps 6 and 7, and is formed with stop shoulders 13, while the dog-acting end of said latch plate is very much reduced in width. The other or left hand end of the latch plate 12 is preferably made slightly narrower than the straps, and it is formed with a notch 14 that strad dles a fulcrum lug 15 that is partly severed from the strap 6 and pressed downward so that the adjacent fulcrumed edge of the latch plate may enter slightly between the same and the undersurface of said strap 6.

The said strap 6, at its intermediate portion, is formedwith lateral finger-like extensions 16 that are bent ldownward and then inward, so thatthey closely engagethe latch plates just at the right of its shoulders 13, and thus coperate with the fulcrum lug 15 to securely hold the latch plate in working position, but do not prevent the same from having freedom for pivotal or swinging movements on its fulcrumed end so that its dog-acting end may engage and be disengaged from the lperforations 9 ,of the' strap 7. Here it may be stated that the said notches 9 act as ratchet teeth and that the end of the dog 11 is beveled so that when the strap 7 is pressed from the right toward the left, in respect to the drawings, said dog will be cammed, successively, into engagement` with the said perforations. y

For yieldingly holding the dog-acting end of the latch plate operative in one or the other o-f the perforations of the strap 7, a flat leaf spring 17 is secured at one end to the left hand end of strap 6 and its free end presses against the bottom of the free end portion of said latch plate. Here also, it should be noted that, as preferably constructed, the retaining fingers 16, which are integral with the strap 6' and are pressed from the same sheet, also underlap the free end of the spring 17 to limit the downward movement thereof and of the latch plate. The latch plate, near its dogequipped end, has an attached finger ring 18, by means of which it may be pulled downward and released, to thereby permit the strap 7 to be drawn toward the right, in respect to, or to be separated from the strap 6.

At their ends, the straps 6 and 7 provide suitable means for attachment to the customary rings or loops, or other end portions of the haines, not shown. Preferably, this is accomplished by bending the ends 19 of said straps rst upward and inward, asshown by full lines in Fig. 2, to adapt them for application to the ends of the hame, and thereafter bending the same down and more completely forming fastening loops or eyes, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Preferably also, ears 20 are punched from the loops 19 and bent downward to afford hand grips by means of which the two straps may be forced together to thereby tighten the haines against the collar.

By reference to Figs. 2 and 4, it will be noted that the keeper fingers 8, at their right hand ends, project farther than the end of the said strap itself, and that the connecting side fianges also bevel toward these extended ends of the fianges. This affords sort of an open pocket through the end of which the end of the strap 7 may be pressed upward and brought into proper alinement with the guide channels formed by the said flanges 8, and thereafter easily inserted into the said channels.

Here, attention is called to the fact that the operative face of the lug-acting end 1l of the latch plate 12 is inclined to correspond approximately to the inclination of the inclined sides of the perforations 9. This insures against separation or slipping of the strap members under outward endwise strains put upon the strap members by the clamped hames.

Both of the strap members and the dogacting latch plate, as is evident, may be cheaply made by stamping the same from sheet metal and when thus made, they will be comparatively light, and at the same time, very strong and durable. The parts of the device described may also be very easily assembled, and when assembled, the adjustable hame strap may be easily oper ated. It has, as is evident quite a large number of adjustments and may be adjusted to tighten the hame simply by pressing the two hame straps into more closely overlapping engagement.

What I claim is:

1. A hame strap comprising two strap members and a dog-actinglatch plate, one of said strap members having keepers for the other strap member, said other strap member having longitudinally spaced perforations and retaining fingers for the latch plate, said `first noted strap further having a depressed lug affording a fulcrum for the latch plate, and a leaf spring applied to the first noted strap member and yieldingly acting on the latch plate to urge it into engagement with the perforations of said second noted strap.

2. A hame strap comprising two normally flat strap members and a normally flat latch plate, one of said strap members having retaining flanges overturned to afford keepers for the other strap, the said other strap having longitudinally spaced perforations, said latch plate, at its free end, having a laterally bent dog-acting end, at its intermediate portion having stop` shoulders, and a-t its other end having a notch, the said first noted strap having lateral inturned retaining fingers engageable with the stop shoulder of said latch plate and underlying said latch plate, the said first noted strap further having a depressed lug affording a fulcrum for the notched end of said latch plate, and a leaf spring applied tothe first noted strap member and yeldingly acting on said latch plate to urge itsdogacting end into engagement with the perforations of said ysecond noted strap.

In testimonywhereof I afliX my signature in presence of two` witnesses.

OSCAR W. CARLSON.

lvitnesses:

N. D. CARLSON, H.' S. JOHNSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

. Washington, D. C. 

